BlueWalker 1, 2 (BW 1, 2) (original) (raw)
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BlueWalker 1 [NanoAvionics]
BlueWalker 1 is a 6U-CubeSat built by the Lithuanian company NanoAvionics for AST & Science. AST & Science is also an investor in NanoAvionics.
The satellite was used to test AST & Science's patented technologies for connecting to cellphones in a space environment for their planned SpaceMobile constellation. The manufacturing and payload integration reportedly was done in one month. The satellite proved that AST & Science's system could link directly to cellphones.
The satellite carried a cell phone as a receiver for the ground based test system.
The satellite was released into a lower than planned orbit due to a delayed deployment, reducing the orbital life time slightly.
Two more satellites are planned for 2020 and 2021. It now appears, that BlueWalker 2 is no longer to be launched and that the second test flight is the much larger BlueWalker 3 in 2021, which is to test a 10 m diameter deployable antenna.
Nation: | USA |
---|---|
Type / Application: | Communications, technology |
Operator: | NanoAvionics, AST & Science |
Contractors: | NanoAvionics |
Equipment: | |
Configuration: | CubeSat (6U) |
Propulsion: | |
Power: | Solar cells, batteries |
Lifetime: | |
Mass: | |
Orbit: | 434 km × 515 km, 97.5� |
Satellite | COSPAR | Date | LS | Launch Vehicle | Remarks | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BlueWalker 1 (BW 1) | 2019-018AD | 01.04.2019 | Sr SLP | p | PSLV-QL | with EMISAT, Flock-4a 1, ..., 20, Lemur-2 96, ..., 99, M6P, Astrocast 0.2, AISTECHSAT 3, AIS/APRS/ARIS / releasesed in wrong orbit |
BlueWalker 2 (BW 2) | - | 202x | with ? / cancelled |